Weekend Press Clips

Sunday, 6 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

BBC News today covered the world premiere of "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" which David Tennant (who plays the role of Barty Crouch Jr. in the film) attended. The david-tennant.com fan site has some pictures including video snaps of news reports. Also, CBBC News called Tennant one of the night's "biggest crowd-pleasers".

The Sun had a story last Friday with a picture story about filming for the new series that took place the day before in London. In the piece, which featured two photos of David Tennant with Billie Piper, a BBC insider described the chemistry on-screen between them as "explosive". The newsprint edition had the photos in mono, but you can see them in glorious colour at the Sunwebsite. Friday's Daily Star, meanwhile, said that "The new Doctor Who is a real scream - as in funny, not scary. Dishy David Tennant couldn't stop clowning as he filmed on location in London. And he had co-star Billie Piper in hoots of laughter, larking about between takes of the hit BBC sci-fi series. Gorgeous Billie, 23, grinned away at the antics of David, 34, who takes over the role on Christmas Day - just what the Doctor ordered."

The BBC TV Moments website is currently taking votes on the best show of 2005. A special with the results will be hosted by Jonathan Ross in December.

Sky Showbiz has eleven photographs posted up from filming this week. "If you simply can't wait for the next series of Doctor Who to start, then at least you can feast your eyes on a bit of on-set action," says the report. "We've sniffed out some photos of the new Doc David Tennant starring alongside Billie Piper - and it looks like they're having some fun. Frankly we can't get enough of this new version of the Timelord, complete with his baseball boots. Sure, he's not a conventional Brad Pitt-style handsome... but there is something highly fanciable about Mr Tennant in his long brown tweed coat. And of course, Billie looks as cute and pretty as ever, and certainly seems to have taken to Christopher Ecclestone's replacement. Have a peek through the gallery above - and stress not, it doesn't spoil anything."

The website of Manners McDade Artist Management (website) reveals that "Murray Gold is currently working on the music for the second series of Dr Who which will be recorded by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as writing the music to the third series of Shameless."

According to the trade journal The Bookseller, Panini Books' Doctor Who Annual 2006 continues its sales success, spending a third week back in the Top 20 Children's Books chart compiled by Nielsen BookScan for the trade journal The Bookseller. The chart shows a steady increase in sales as Christmas approaches, with over 2,000 units sold the week ending 15 October, 2,500 the week of 22 October, and 3,400 the week of 29 October. These figures compare very favourably with other titles in the chart, including various Star Wars and Harry Potter books, all with weekly sales of between 2,500 and 8,000, although everything is dwarfed by the latest Lemony Snicket release, which is currently shifting 20,000 copies each week.

The Sun on Sunday called Billie Piper's new Shakespeare foray, "Much Ado About Nothing" its Best Drama of the evening. Piper plays Hero, a weather girl based on the original Shakespeare character. The Derby Evening Telegraphyesterday noted a "more feminist contemporary ending to the play, which pleased Billie Piper enormously. 'I was thrilled to find out that Hero, in this version, makes such a liberating choice in the end,' she said. 'She starts out very green, very young, but in the course of the play she becomes more certain of who she is. The original Hero just wouldn't sit happily in this century, for the simple reason that it's acceptable and expected now for young girls to be their own people.'" The Independentsays of her performance, "The subsequent mood shift when Hero is humiliated at the altar is somewhat inconceivable, since all that precedes it has been regional TV-lite. Even so, the dramatic purity of the moment will not be denied, not least because the performances of Piper, Parish and Lewis are more than enough to finesse a sudden change of gear that confronts us with serious questions about love and its ugly twin, jealousy." TheGuardianreviews "Much Ado About Nothing": "The Shakespeare season is inventive, often wildly so, brave, and occasionally interesting. It is also a tragic failure and a dreadful waste of money. Perhaps it's a failure that will, with a bit of luck, send the drama department back to the Arden and the Oxford texts to discover that you don't need to 'reinterpret' Shakespeare. Here's a radical thought: why not just perform the plots as written, and let the lines speak for themselves? Brush up your Shakespeare, start quoting him now ..."

The Arts section of Saturday's Daily Telegraph today (Saturday 5 November) has a lengthy appreciation of Billie Piper, "who has the nation's heart in her pocket", ahead of her appearance on Monday in the first of the BBC's Shakespeare reworkings. Of her part in Doctor Who, Craig McLean says, "Piper is perfect in the role of Dr Who's sidekick Rose Tyler, conveying a winning mix of streetwise pluck, cool glamour and a kind of been-there, done-that savvy." The same article also features a celebration of Piper in verse, written by poet Ian McMillan, part of which reads: "And as Doctor Who's mate she screamed like a good 'un,/Waltzed through dimensions not missing a beat./And I disagree that her acting was wooden;/She made Saturday teatime a timeskipping treat." Interestingly, the following is stated: "The Corporation has also reportedly locked her in to a third series of Dr Who with a lucrative golden handcuffs deal. How's that for a comeback?" Has Piper been signed to a third year, perhaps?

Piper is going to be the first interviewee on estranged husband Chris Evans's forthcoming TV show, according to The Sun this past Saturday. The newspaper's showbiz section Bizarre says he asked her to appear on ITV1 show OFI Sunday as a favour to him, as he continues his comeback in the world of entertainment. It quotes an insider as saying: "It's going to be a strange interview, cringeworthy even. Chris knows everything about Billie - but then she knows everything about him too. If he asks her anything too controversial she could come back with a real dig at him. I think he will steer clear of any sex questions in case he implicates himself in any way. I imagine it's going to be more of a love-in than a warts-and-all chat. It shows how supportive Billie is of him, agreeing to do the show. But she's terrified he might try to slip in the odd embarrassing question to trip her up. The show is live so anything could happen." The piece is illustrated with colour headshots of Evans and Piper and the programme airs on November 20 at 10.30pm. Also reported at Digital Spy.

The Sunday Mail interviews first and second-series writer Steven Moffat. "The Scot behind Dr Who's scariest episode has warned the next series will be even more terrifying," says the article. "Writer Steven Moffat is working on the new episodes starring David Tennant as the Doctor and says petrified viewers will once again be peering out from behind the sofa. This is bad news for the parents whose complaints about the last series forced the BBC to issue a warning it was not suitable for children under eight. Steven, 44, scripted the sinister two-part tale about a plague-infected 'gas-mask boy' for the last series. Many fans hailed the terrifying Empty Child episodes and the boy's chilling line: 'Are you my mummy?' as the stand-out of the series. But Steven promises the new shows will be every bit as spooky. He said: 'I liked that the last series was scary. To children, scary is a recommendation.' ... Like the new Doctor, Steven is originally from Paisley and both men were boyhood fans of the show - which has led Steven to offer some advice to his fellow Buddy. 'I tried to switch off from being a fan. You have to want to subvert it a bit and not treat it like a wonderful china ornament. David Tennant has that problem, too, now. He was concerned what he was going to wear as the Doctor because he might go into total 'fan-out'.'" Moffat also notes that "My story might have been scarier for adults than children. Kids are at home with the idea of creepy children, which is naturally more worrying to adults. The Empty Child is fundamentally frightening because there's no reasoning with it. It's coming to destroy you and it can't be persuaded out of it. Even the Daleks will stop for a chat. My view of how you ought to do Dr Who is that you keep the mystery going right to the very end, so that the Doctor can continue to be the investigator. 'This is why I don't care for bringing back old enemies. The mystery has gone from them and I wanted a big mystery. I want you to get to the end of part one thinking, 'I have no idea what is going on'." The article also talks about John Barrowman's character and Moffat's history in writing.

icWales reported Saturday on the shortage of new series merchandise from Character Options. Stock has been reaching UK high street and online retailers in very limited numbers of the last few weeks and has been selling out immediately. Retailers in the icWales report comment that "Every year there's always one toy which they don't make enough of and this year it's definitely the remote-controlled Daleks," and Charcter Options "said deliveries were being made to shops on a daily basis but he could not guarantee stock would reach all the shops in time for Christmas... 'We are shipping big quantities and more stock will arrive in the run-up to Christmas but demand is huge'." However, "the Toy Retailers Association, which placed the remote-controlled Dalek in its list of dream toys for 2005, said it was too early to predict any shortages." icWales also has a guide to the Character Options merchandise. Manchester Online notes "the Dr Who toy range was also performing well" while Sharecast says that "Character Group, the toy maker, managed to drag itself out of losses by the end of the year and said the stronger trend was set to continue, with new Little Britain and Doctor Who toys set to boost sales."

Manchester Evening News says that Christopher Eccleston is getting "back to his roots". "He's known to hate the trappings of showbiz life. So it's no surprise that, having left his hugely popular Dr Who role, Christopher Eccleston's latest project sees him back to his gritty northern roots. The Salfordian, who last week won Most Popular Actor at the National TV Awards, but failed to turn up to the glitzy ceremony to collect the gong, has narrated a documentary about a priceless archive in his home city that will be screened for the first time at next week's Salford Film Festival. It tells the incredible story of the world-famous Working Class Movement Library on The Crescent. Ruth and Eddie Frow created the lib- rary after they met in the 1950s, driving all over Britain in their Morris Minor collect- ing objects relating to labour history. The archive includes 50,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals and 2,000 items of memorabilia. Christopher, raised in Little Hulton, was happy to be narrator for no fee, and there are plans to release the 25-minute film on DVD before the end of the year. The film festival, which runs from Friday to Sunday next week, will also host Salford's first ever world film premiere, of murder mystery The Truth, at The Red Cinema, Salford Quays on Friday, November 11."

The Borehamwood Times discusses an unearthed recording of an interview done over thirty years ago with Peter Cushing, who played the role of Dr. Who in the two 1960's films. "Ironically, Peter found himself playing an iconic TV character in the movies," says the article. Quoting Cushing, "I was asked to play Dr Who in two films as they thought my name would sell more tickets than William Hartnell, who portrayed the character on the small screen," he said. "To be honest, I had never seen the series so I based my interpretation on an eccentric scientist."

The new DVD release of The Quatermass Experiment 2005, the live version, is of interest to Doctor Who fans, primarily due to the presence of David Tennant in the cast. The 45-minute documentary includes reference to the moment David Tennant announced the news of his appointment as the Tenth Doctor - with other cast members sensing something was happening - while a short 5 minute interview with actor Jason Fleming discusses his father Gordon Fleming's involvement in the two 1960's Doctor Who films, with a comical story about his approach to the new Doctor Who production team.

Other news clips: more confirmation of the Christmas special airing on Christmas Day at The RegistericWalesThe SunThe Great Link;icWales is reporting that BBC Wales is being criticised for spending over UKP 600,000 on cab fares in recent years "due to all the extra work from winning top network commissions such as the new Doctor Who!"; more reports on David Tennant's sighting escorting Sophia Myles at Sky ShowbizDigital Spy; and Cinescapefeatures a brief article about John Debney, composer of the soundtrack for the 1996 TV movie.

(Thanks to Steve Tribe, Paul Engelberg, Peter Weaver, John Bowman, Mark Jones, Robert Booth, Richard Kirkpatrick, Steve Freestone)




FILTER: - David Tennant - Press

Tennant: Drama on 3

Sunday, 6 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

In addition to the recent appearance of Billie Piper in the adaptation of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," David Tennant has also participated in a rendition of the classic tale for BBC Radio 3 airing at 7.15pm on Sunday, 13 November. "As part of the BBC's Shakespeare Retold season, Drama On 3 provides another opportunity to hear one of the Bard's best-loved comedies, brought thrillingly to life by a star-studded cast, headed by David Tennant and Samantha Spiro as Benedick and Beatrice." The cast also includes Chiwetel Ejiofor ("Serenity"), Emilia Fox, David Haig, Julian Rhind-Tutt, David Swift, David Westhead and Peter Gunn. (Thanks to Phil Creighton)




FILTER: - David Tennant

More on Christmas Lights

Thursday, 27 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
The BBC has posted a press release about David Tennant and Billie Piper lighting the Cardiff Christmas lights this year. "The switching-on of Cardiff's Christmas lights at the Civic Centre promises to be an event to remember this year, with a special appearance by two extraordinary intergalactic time-travellers. On Thursday 17 November, the capital is going to have its very own Christmas Invasion as David Tennant and award-winning actress Billie Piper – stars of BBC Wales' hit drama Doctor Who - materialize from their busy filming schedule in Wales to inject a huge dose of Christmas spirit into Cardiff. The free event is staged and managed by Cardiff Council in partnership with BBC Wales, City Centre Management and Red Dragon FM. The entertainment starts at 5.45pm when the Red Hot Santas take to the stage to play some Christmas favourites; and the big switch-on will take place at 6.45pm. Visitors can then move into the city centre for late night shopping until 8.00pm or get their skates on and take to the ice when the open-air ice rink at Cardiff's Winter Wonderland opens its doors to the public at 7.45pm. Billie Piper says: "I'm really looking forward to kick-starting the Christmas spirit in Cardiff. We filmed a lot of scenes for the Christmas episode, The Christmas Invasion, in the city centre and I can't wait to see it lit up for real. I hope everyone has a fantastic time.' Cllr Nigel Howells, Executive Member for Sport, Leisure and Culture, says: "We are delighted to work with BBC Wales and I know that Cardiff will welcome Billie and David to the Christmas Lights Switch On. It should be a great night for the family and a wonderful start to Cardiff's Christmas festivities.'"




FILTER: - People - David Tennant - Press

On With the Xmas Lights

Tuesday, 25 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
Says the official Doctor Who site, David Tennant and Billie Piper will switch on the Christmas lights in Cardiff this year. "Santa has an early present for Cardiff-based Doctor Who fans this year. 17 November sees the Welsh capital's own Christmas Invasion as Billie Piper and David Tennant arrive to turn on the festive lights. Seasonal celebrations begin at 5.45, with the Red Hot Santas taking to the stage to play some Christmas favourites. The big switch on by the Doctor and Rose happens at 6.45, after which visitors can move on to the City Centre and shop until 8pm. Or they can get their skates on and head to the open-air ice rink at Cardiff's Winter Wonderland, which opens its doors to the public at 7.45pm."




FILTER: - Special Events - David Tennant

Enlightenment 129

Monday, 24 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
The latest issue of Enlightenment, the Doctor Who Information Network's bi-monthly fanzine, includes "Tennant's Pride: What will David Tennant bring to the role of the Tenth Doctor? We try to find some clues from his career! Plus: More reviews of Season One, including a review by BBC Books author Lloyd Rose!; Shipping and the New Series; Who is the Emperor Dalek? We have a theory!; Should K9 Come Back?; Lance Parkin on why December 25th should be Doctor Who Eve!; and: reviews of all the latest books, audios and DVDs." The cover is at right; you can order it directly from the DWIN's website. ((Thanks to Mike Doran)




FILTER: - David Tennant

Tennant in Harry Potter

Thursday, 29 September 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon
At right is a scan of a forthcoming Harry Potter calendar which shows a photo of David Tennant as Barty Crouch Jnr. in the new film "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the image (which was originally revealed on the MuggleNet website). (Thanks to James Bagnall)




FILTER: - David Tennant

Dreamwatch 133

Tuesday, 30 August 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

David Tennant features on the cover on the latest issue ofDreamwatch magazine -- which is now on sale -- and is a featured interview inside the magazine. "It's not like any other acting job," Tennant tells Dreamwatch, "just with the amount of attention that it gets. I've done all sorts of different things. That's all been great fun, but suddenly I get cast as Doctor Who and it was on the news! [laughs] I was visiting my mum and dad, and we were sitting in the kitchen having breakfast, and it came on the news. That's just a whole other world of attention. It's great. It's fantastic to be involved with something that's loved and that people get excited about it. It's a privilege to be a part of that history, but it's kind of daunting as well." He says he was approached for the role because "I was working with Russell T. Davies, the main writer and creative head of it, on Casanova at the end of last year. I knew him through that. Unbeknownst to me, that was my audition. It came up after that, when they knew that Chris Eccleston was moving on. They just asked me to do it. I didn't have to [formally] audition because I had done Casanova. That became my audition because I'd been working so closely with Russell. I didn't know that Doctor Who was a possibility then, and it probably wasn't at that point." Was it true that he had to keep the news quiet? "I couldn't tell anyone. It was such a high voltage secret, I was just aware that there was really no choice. I wanted to tell everyone, of course, but it was pretty hard. My agent was the only person that I could talk to about it." How did it feel when Tom Baker endorsed you for the part? "I heard about this. I was completely thrilled. That's really lovely. I haven't actually confirmed it. I've only heard it third-hand, and of course I never believe anything I read in the papers. I hope it's true. I'm choosing to believe it's true. I'm a huge fan of his." The issue also features an interview with comic creator Bryan Hitch, who served as concept artist on the revival of Doctor Who, where he talks about revamping the TARDIS, the Daleks and offers tantalising clues about the new Cybermen. Visit the Dreamwatch website for more information.




FILTER: - Magazines - David Tennant

Today on Blue Peter

Wednesday, 17 August 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

David Tennant appeared today on Blue Peter to promote Doctor Who, and here's what transpired:
The "design a monster" competition received 43,920 entries, apparently the best response to a Blue Peter competition since 1993. The top five hundred were shown on boards in the studio, with the presenters pointing out some of them to a visiting Dalek which cast its opinion on them, and footage was also shown of the team with Russell T Davies at his home judging the entries. Following this some close-ups of runner-up entries were shown accompanied by the series theme tune. Then following a clip from "The Parting of the Ways," David Tennant was introduced in the studio, interviewed by the three presenters. He said that he didn't want to give too much away, but promised some 'Christmassy elements' in the Christmas episode.
Questions from viewers were given to him from viewers. The first question was, did he watch as a youngster? Tennant replied that he did, and one of the presenters asked if he watched from behind the sofa. Tennant questioned whether anybody could do this as sofa are surely against walls. The next question was, did he watch the last series, and if so did he have a favourite part? He said that he had watched, and would have done so even had he not been taking on the part û although he did say his favourite moment was the regeneration when he took over! The third question was where would he go in time and space if he could choose... he said he'd like to go back and see the first performance of Hamlet and meet Shakespeare. He was then asked how his Doctor would be different from Christopher Eccleston's, to which Tennant replied that the clothes would obviously be different, but that they would have to watch and judge for themselves otherwise. He did use the phrase 'A bit down with the kids', however.
The live webchat after the show was then advertised. The Dalek then introduced the winners, clips from Davies' house shown again, and then the winning entries were announced for third, second and first places in the three different age groups. Tennant introduced first prize winners. Overall winner spoke on the phone about how he was inspired, asked Tennant who his favourite Doctor was. Tennant said Tom Baker, as he was the one he grew up with. Neill Gorton was then interviewed about how he was going to realise the design. The female presenter mentioned that it had been hinted there would be "evil teachers" in an upcoming episode, in reference to an evil school dinnerlady drawing! Some other monsters mentioned included a big green egg with a slurpy tongue protruding; the Indian god Shiva, except with more arms; a "broccoli" monster (which seemed to amuse Davies in the film clips); and Sad Tony, a pink and tearful version of the Ogron Monster from "Frontier in Space".
The winning monster from the competition, which will be used in the series, was called an Abzorbaloff and is described as a "hairy Sumo"... green, snarly, wild-eyed, with the faces of previous victims showing through its skin. William Grantham from Colchester was the winner of the competition.
Executive producer Russell T Davies was not present, despite pre-airing reports that he would join Tennant on stage; instead, he was shown judging the competition from his home, looking delighted with the entries.
Tennant then went to the CBBC Studios for a web chat which lasted approximately 15 minutes; many of the questions were in much the same vein as the ones asked of him on Blue Peter, with no additional information learned.
UPDATE: The Blue Peter BBC website now has a page of all winning entries; click here to see all of the finalists in all three age categories.
UPDATE: The BBC Press Office has issued a press release with full details about the contest, noting that the judges included Blue Peter editor Richard Marson, Blue Peter presenter Gethin Jones, Russell T Davies and David Tennant. There were also also a few brief answers from an interview conducted with David Tennant "during rehearsals" this afternoon posted here, and a transcript of this evening's webchat should be up soon at this site.
(Thanks to Paul Hayes, Andrew Duncan, Jon Melville, Steve Tribe, and to "WilX" for the image)




FILTER: - David Tennant - Competitions

Tennant Webchat Wednesday

Tuesday, 16 August 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

David Tennant will participate in a web chat on the CBBC website from 5.30 to 6.30pm on Wednesday 17 August; the site is currently taking questions from readers of the BBC sites for him to answer. Tennant is expected to appear soon after he visits the "Blue Peter" set on Wednesday.




FILTER: - David Tennant

Tennant on Blue Peter

Thursday, 11 August 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

David Tennant will be on the 17 August edition of Blue Peter, the daily BBC television series. From the website: "David Tennant from 'Doctor Who' will be on the show. Are you a 'Doctor Who' fan? Did you enter the 'Doctor Who' Monster competition? The new Doctor, David Tennant, will be in the studio on August 17th to announce the winner! If you'd like to ask David a question or send him a message, get in touch and your question or message could be read out on the show! If you'd prefer to text in your question or message from your mobile phone, text 'BP' and then start your message with 'Doctor'. Send to 62222. Operators' standard text rates apply. Ask permission before sending us a text message." Radio Times also confirmed that the results would be revealed by Tennant along with Russell T Davies. The show is on at 5pm on Wednesday 17 August on BBC One, with another showing on the digital CBBC channel at 6pm. (Thanks to John Leivers, Steve Tribe)




FILTER: - David Tennant - Radio Times